Science Scoops: Order! Order!

by Stephen James O'Meara

If you thought finding several new species of insects was exciting, get this: Danish and German scientists have recently discovered a new order of insects! In biology, an order is a primary classification of related animals, which is then subdivided into genera and species. Several new insect species are found each year. But the discovery of a new insect order is not so common. In fact, it's the first time such a discovery has been made since 1915!

The first member of this new insect order was discovered by an international team of entomologists (scientists who study insects) that went to the Brandberg Mountains in Namibia, Africa. The new insect, which looks something like a cross between a stick insect and a praying mantis, was immediately recognized by one team member, Oliver Zompro (Max-Planck-Institute in Plön, Germany). You see, the previous year, Zompro had discovered this same life form in a 45-million-year-old piece of amber that was in a collection at the British Natural History Museum in London. So the newly discovered insect order has been around for at least 45 million years!

The new insect has jaws with three small teeth and long antennae. The scientists say that based on the insect's stomach contents, it appears to be a carnivore (flesh-eater). Indeed, rows of spines on its front and middle legs indicate that the animal held on to its prey with its legs, as some insect-eating locusts do. It has been given the provisional name “Gladiator.” This new order, christened “Mantophasmatodea,” brings the number of insect orders known throughout the world to 31.

Vocabulary

order: A group of animals or plants that are similar in many ways. Rodents such as rats, mice, hamsters, and beavers belong to the same order.

Activity

Taxonomists divide these kingdoms into subcategories called phylums or divisions. A phylum distinguishes amongst animals with different evolutionary traits. A division distinguishes amongst plants with different evolutionary traits. Taxonomists then divide the phylums and divisions into classes. Then taxonomists divide the classes into orders. Organisms in the same order share certain characteristics. An order is divided into families. Families are divided into genuses, and finally, genuses are divided into species.

Print a copy of the chart titled: Classification (PDF file). This chart is separated into two columns. In the first column, write the word “Human” at the top. Using an encyclopedia, look up the information for the biological classification of a human. In the second column, write the word “Eastern Lowland Gorilla” at the top. Using an encyclopedia, look up the information for the biological classification of a gorilla.[anno: Chart for human should contain the following information:
Kingdom: Animal; Phylum: Chordata; Class: Mammal; Order: Primate; Family: Hominid; Genus: Homo; Species: Homo sapien.
Chart for Eastern lowland gorilla should contain the following information:
Kingdom: Animal; Phylum: Chordata; Class: Mammal; Order: Primate; Family: Hominid; Genus: Gorilla; Species: Gorilla gorilla.
Note: students may use scientific or common classification names.]

Study your chart after you have completed it. What conclusions might you draw from the information that you found?[anno: Answers will vary but could include the conclusion that humans and gorillas are closely related.]